A-G takes Trio to Court for ‘Scandalising Judiciary’
‘Kangaroo in judge’s robe’ T-shirt at centre of case
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‘Kangaroo in judge’s robe’ T-shirt at centre of case
By Goh Chin Lian
15 October 2008
Three men are being taken to court for wearing T-shirts with a kangaroo dressed in a judge’s robes last May in the Supreme Court building.
One of them is also accused of having made the remark, ‘This is a kangaroo court’, to Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew as he walked past.
He is Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) assistant secretary-general John Tan Liang Joo, 47.
MM Lee was at the court building for a hearing on defamation damages involving the SDP, its chief Chee Soon Juan and his sister Siok Chin, a member of the party’s central executive committee.
Yesterday, the Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC) said the High Court has given it the nod to start proceedings against Tan and two others for contempt of court.
The duo are national serviceman Muhammad Shafi’ie Syahmi Sariman, 20, and activist Isrizal Mohamed Isa, 33.
The trio had worn the T-shirts between May 26 and May 28 when a hearing before Justice Belinda Ang was being held in Court 4B. The sessions were to assess defamation damages the SDP and the Chees had to pay Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and MM Lee.
According to the AGC, the three men had ‘scandalised the Singapore Judiciary by publicly wearing identical white T-shirts, imprinted with a palm-sized picture of a kangaroo dressed in a judge’s gown, within and in the vicinity of the New Supreme Court Building’.
By this, they meant to imply the Court was a kangaroo court, it added.
A kangaroo court is generally understood as being a court characterised by unauthorised or irregular procedures, or sham and unfair legal proceedings, noted the AGC. It also said Tan made his ‘This is a kangaroo court’ remark as MM Lee walked past him outside Court 4B.
Tan was also responsible, it added, for the appearance of an article, ‘Police question activists over kangaroo T-shirts’, and a photo of the trio in the T-shirts on the SDP website on July 27.
‘The article and the photograph...were meant to give wider publicity to their allegation that the Court was a kangaroo court,’ said the AGC.
It accused them of engaging in a ‘deliberate and calculated course of action to impugn the reputation of and undermine public confidence in the Singapore Judiciary, and to lower its authority in the administration of justice in Singapore’.
The High Court’s approval for the AGC to start contempt proceedings is the first of a two-stage process.
In the next step, the three men will be officially notified of the lawsuit, and a hearing date will be set for both sides to present their arguments in open court.
Tan and Muhammad Shafi’ie are also facing separate charges in court, with 17 others, for their involvement in an illegal assembly and march on March 15.
When contacted, Tan said he was still digesting the news, adding: ‘This is so sudden. It hit me like a thunderbolt.’
Muhammad Shafi’ie could not be reached, and Isrizal declined to comment.
Lawyers interviewed said it was the first time they had heard of a contempt of court case involving the wearing of T-shirts. Mr Bryan Tan, director of law firm Keystone Law Corporation, told The Straits Times: ‘It’s unusual, but it’s not that far a stretch in the application of the law. One could conceivably scandalise the judiciary in various ways such as making hand signals or intentional noises. A T-shirt that’s intended to make a statement should be no different.’
Senior lawyer Amolat Singh said contempt of court covers a wide spectrum of situations, including actions that may appear to be a practical joke.
‘As long as you try to ridicule or poke fun at the judiciary, the judge has to act. The court is entitled to protect its decorum.’